Atenolol and metoprolol once daily in hypertension.
The effect of once-daily dosage of the two most widely prescribed cardioselective beta-adrenoceptor antagonists used to treat hypertension--namely, atenolol and metoprolol--was studied in nine carefully selected hypertensive outpatients. Each patient received atenolol 50 mg/day, atenolol 100 mg/day, metoprolol 100 mg/day, and metoprolol 200 mg/day in a sustained-release formulation (as Lopresor SR) according to a randomised sequence. After three weeks' treatment with each drug given once daily comparisons of the treatments 24 hours after dosing showed no important differences between 50 and 100 mg atenolol/day. Metoprolol, as both the standard and the slow-release formulations, had some limitations in controlling systolic blood pressure and heart rate. These results suggest that the recommendations for the treatment of hypertension with these cardioselective beta-adrenoceptor antagonists should be reconsidered since doses smaller than those recommended are almost as effective and much cheaper.
D000328:Adult; D001262:Atenolol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008790:Metoprolol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011412:Propanolamines / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D011412:Propanolamines; D001262:Atenolol; D008790:Metoprolol